Widows
By Kudirat Musa
Abuja, June 23, 2019 (NAN) The FCT chapter of National Association of Nigeria Traders (NANTs), in collaboration with TAKEM Empowerment Initiative, on Sunday in Abuja distributed food items to widows to celebrate the International Widows’ Day.
Speaking at the occasion, Mrs Rachael Adewunmi, FCT Woman Leader of NANTs, said the Association and the NGO celebrated widows to make them realise they play important role in the society.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the International Widows’ Day was introduced to address poverty and injustice faced by widows and their children in many countries.
It was officially recognised by the United Nations (UN) in 2010 and is observed anually on June 23.
Adewunmi, who is also President of TAKEM, said several women around the world after losing their life partners face challenges and long-term struggle for basic needs of life.
“They face challenges of their human rights and dignity, with their children being sent out of school, among others.
“We are therefore here to make the widows in our midst happy and to show them that we care and we are aware of their plight.
“We are here to draw attention of the whole world to resolving and finding lasting solutions to the problems facing widows,” she said.
Adewunmi added that the theme of this year’s International Widows’ Day could be easily referred to as “Do Not Discriminate”.
“This simply means the widows are part of us, they are part of the society and we should do everything possible to give them succour and bring smiles to their faces,” she said.
Speaking on her involvement, Adewunmi said: “I have the passion to help the less privileged, and that is why I formed the NGO to help those children out of school to go back to school within my own capacity.
“I believe if you want to do big you start small and when people see you doing it, they will come to support you to do more.”
She said further that she became involved more in trying to reduce widows’ sufferings after, as a woman leader of NANTs, she became more aware of widows’ plight.
“No matter how little you earn, remember that some people do not have at all, and I believe if we have that at the back of our minds we will be putting smiles on their faces and they will be comfortable in our midst.
“My advice to widows, in view of the fact that some of them believe that they need big money, is that if they are focused the little given to them will be big. They should not waste it.
“They should use that little to start something and if they focus on it their turnaround will be bigger.”
Dr Edozie Ugwu, the Chairman of FCT NANTs, said the International Widows’ Day celebration was a wonderful initiative to celebrate widows in the world.
Ugwu said TAKEM had been doing very well by empowering widows, and orphans.
“We are partnering in this to make sure we improve the lives of widows and their children.
“We have discussed how to help widows at our National Executive Committee meeting and we have agreed that the soft loans that our cooperative normally give to traders will change.
“Thirty per cent of it will go to widows in order to help them.
“We also agreed that those that want to start up a business and do not have anything, they will undergo a training.
“We will find out the thing they can do, we will now support them to establish what they can do and to see how we can help their children that are out of school to go back,” he said.
Mrs Chinyere Ogbuefi, a widow at the occasion, said widows face a lot of trauma and would need to look up to God.
“Widowhood is not something anybody should pray for, and I do not pray for anybody to become a widow.
“It is not easy because the burden of two people becomes that of one person. But we thank God now seeing those of us who are widows.
“My advice to fellow widows is that they should turn to God, because God is the author and finisher of our lives, and if they look up to God they will find out that widowhood has another way of transforming them.
“It strengthens you in the area where you are weak before and it will give you the insight to be able to communicate well in the society.
“Widowhood is not something that will make you define yourself as a weakling but it is something that you have to give you strength,” she said.
ROK/OLAL
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(Edited by Olawale Alabi)